Eragon
Eragon Shadeslayer, or Eragon Argetlam, was a male human, the first in a new generation of Dragon Riders. He was trained by Brom and Oromis, and was chosen by Saphira, a blue dragon, as her Rider. Eragon grew up as an orphan, without any real knowledge of his parentage except his mother's name, Selena, but later discovered that he possessed magical abilities and was destined to fight the forces of evil, headed by King Galbatorix. At the Battle of The Burning Plains, he met Murtagh, his one-time friend and ally, who turned out to be his brother and the son of the notorious Forsworn, Morzan. Despite the immense age gap that separated them, Eragon was enamored of the elf princess Arya. The romantic tension between them was a focal point throughout many of his adventures, though Arya, for the most part, rejected his advances. History Early Life For the first fifteen years of his life, Eragon lived on a farm in the small village of Carvahall. His mother, Selena, had vanished soon after he was born, leaving him in the care of her brother, Garrow, and Garrow's wife, Marian. Marian apparently told him just before she died that she and Garrow were not his real parents. Eragon did not know the identity of his father. Discovery of the "stone" While hunting in the Spine, an untamed range of mountains near Carvahall, Eragon found what appeared to be a smooth, blue stone. At first, he intended to sell it, figuring that it would buy enough meat to last the winter. Unfortunately, he had trouble bargaining with the butcher Sloan because the stone was found in the Spine. Instead, he kept the "stone" for himself, and was shocked when it hatched a female dragon. He touched the dragon with his palm, leaving him with the gedwëy ignasia, the mark of a Dragon Rider. Because any reminders of the era of the Dragon Riders were outlawed in the Empire, Eragon raised the dragon in secret, torn between his delight with his new companion and his fear of what might happen should the Empire discover what had occurred. He eventually resolved to keep her, and built a home for her high in the branches of a tree. After consulting with Brom, the village story-teller, as to a good name for a dragon (without telling him of his dragon), he named her Saphira. For a while, he managed to keep her hidden, but when Saphira and her appetite continued to grow, he realized he would not be able to keep her existence a secret much longer. Things were going fine until two menacing, hooded beings of immense power, the Ra'zac, came to Carvahall, searching for the dragon egg. Saphira, now able to mentally communicate her thoughts, forced Eragon to flee with her, while the Ra'zac destroyed Eragon's farm (though it is never seen destroyed) and wounded Garrow who then died a short while after. When Eragon first rode on Saphira, he suffered terrible wounds from her scales, which scraped his legs so badly that it ripped open the skin, making him bleed horribly. If he had known it beforehand, he would've put on a saddle. Quest for Vengeance giving Eragon Zar'roc.]] Eragon, Saphira, and the cryptic story-teller Brom resolved to hunt down the Ra'zac and avenge Garrow. As they travelled, Brom taught Eragon swordsmanship and more about the history of the Dragon Riders. To his surprise, Eragon learned that he was named after the very first Dragon Rider, Eragon I. When he later tried to defend himself and Brom, from an Urgal ambush in Yazuac, he discovered that he was able to use magic. Questioning Brom about it, he learned that all Dragon Riders possess magical abilities, and Brom subsequently took it upon himself to instruct Eragon in the proper use of the talent. After a while, they lost the Ra'zac's trail, but were able to track the Seithr oil, the substance used by the Ra'zac to kill Garrow, to the port city of Teirm. With the assistance of Brom's close friend Jeod, they used the annals in the city's record room to discover that the Ra'zac were located in Helgrind. During there stay in Teirm, Eragon learned to read and write - abilities which Garrow had considered unnecessary - and also to scry. He eavesdropped on a conversation between Brom and Jeod via magic. To his surprise, he learned that both men were members of the Varden, a rebel group that opposed the rule of King Galbatorix. . ]] He visited a shop owned by Angela, a herbalist and witch. He met an intelligent and cryptic werecat named Solembum with her. She told his fortune, revealing that he would have a long lifespan, that the great powers of the land would struggle to control him, that he would fall in love with a lady of noble birth, that he would leave Alagaësia forever, and that he would face betrayal from within his own family. Afterwards, Solembum told him in cryptic words that, when he was in need of a weapon, to look under the Menoa Tree; and to speak his name at the Rock of Kuthian and open the Vault of Souls when his power was insignificant. On the way to Helgrind, Eragon scried a beautiful maiden in a dream. He saw that she was in a prison, and, spellbound by her beauty, decided to check the prison in each town they passed along the way in search of her. She continued appearing in his dreams for some time. Outside of Helgrind, Eragon and his companions were ambushed by the Ra'zac. They were rescued by a mysterious man named Murtagh, but not before Brom was fatally wounded by a Ra'zac dagger. Brom died shortly afterwards, after revealing to Eragon that he was once a Rider, and a great friend of Morzan. Brom was laid to rest, and Saphira used her magic to turn the tomb to diamond. Eragon and Saphira resolved to travel with Murtagh in search of the hidden Varden. They set out for Gil'ead, hoping to find a contact who can lead them to the Varden. At Gil'ead, Urgals under the command of Durza captured Eragon and imprisoned him in the same prison where the maiden, an elf, was being held. Murtagh and Saphira staged a daring rescue. Eragon, Saphira, and Murtagh were confronted by Durza. The struggle ended when Murtagh hit Durza with Murtagh's arrows, causing the shade to be temporarily disembodied. Eragon insisted on rescuing the elf, as well. She remained unconscious, but he was able to speak with her mentally. She revealed to him that her name was Arya, and gave him the location of the Varden. She told him that they must reach the Varden if she was to survive, for she had been poisoned in prison, and would die without being cured. Journey to the Varden , Eragon's blue dragon.]] Eragon, Saphira, Murtagh, and Arya crossed the Hadarac Desert, racing to reach Farthen Dûr, the Dwarven mountains that housed the Varden, in time to save Arya. Along the way, they were pursued by the Empire and the empire's allies, a small army of the Kull. Before they reached Farthen Dûr, Murtagh, who had been reluctant to go to the Varden all along, revealed that he was the son of Morzan, first and last of the Forsworn. The Kull force the group to flee the place where they were resting, and Farthen Dûr opened to allow the group in. Ajihad, leader of the Varden, imprisoned Murtagh when Ajihad learned of Muragh's heritage. Arya was treated for her injuries; Eragon and Saphira were welcomed to Tronjheim, the dwarven city of Farthen Dûr. Eragon was introduced both to Ajihad and to Hrothgar, the King of the Dwarves. he also met up again with Angela and Solembum. Ajihad wished to send Eragon to Ellesméra to complete his training; therefore, two magicians known as the Twins assessed his magic abilities. The Twins were cruel to Eragon, and attempted to use him to further their knowledge of the Ancient Language. A fully-healed Arya intervened, however, and took the task of assessing Eragon upon herself, sparring with him. Eragon, although being soundly defeated, passed the test in Arya's eyes. He began to fall in love with her. The Varden respected and even revered Eragon. Soon after he arrived in Tronjheim, he was approached by an elderly woman and an orphaned child, Elva, who was the woman's charge. The woman asked Eragon's blessing upon Elva, which he gave readily, using the Ancient Language: Atra gülai un ilian tauthr ono un atra ono waíse skölir frá rauthr, which he thought meant, "Let luck and happiness follow you and may you be shielded from misfortune." But Eragon did not know that he said that she may be a "shield" from a misfortune, he thought he had said "shielded". Saphira gave the child her own special gift: a silver star, similar to Eragon's gedwey ignasia, on her forehead. Saphira told Eragon that the child would have a significant future. Not long after, war became imminent. Ajihad informed Saphira and Eragon of an impending threat: an intercepted message revealed that a legion of Urgals and Kull were marching steadily towards the Varden through the tunnels under the mountain range. In the battle that followed, a seemingly endless tide of Urgals seemed poised to take the fortress. Within Tronjheim, Eragon was confronted once again by the menacing Shade, Durza. Eragon was greatly outmatched by the Shade, but, thanks to a sudden distraction from Saphira and Arya, Durza's attention was diverted long enough for Eragon to thrust him through the heart. Eragon paid a terrible price for his deed: he was wounded on the back, and the scar would trouble him greatly over the course of the next few months. Following Durza's demise, the controlling link the Shade held on the Urgal's minds snapped, causing the remainder of them to flee. Eragon fainted and fell into a healing trance; he was watched over by mental presence of the Mourning Sage/The Cripple Who Is Whole which in Ancient Language is 'Togira Ikonoka, who urged him to follow Arya to Ellesméra, the capital of the Elves. North to Ellesméra Eragon decided to accept the advice of the Mourning Sage, and, accompanied by Orik and Arya, traveled northward through eastern Alagaësia to Ellesméra, in order to complete his training as a Rider. But on the Journey north, Eragon was placing on his armour when Orik said that if he was to place the helmet of the armour on, Eragon was to become a member of Dûrgrimst Ingeitum, the name of the clan of the family of Hrothgar (the King of the Dwarves). Eragon still donned the helmet and Orik helped him complete the ritual to make him a true member of the clan. This was the first time in history that a human would join a Dwarf Family. He met with Islanzadí, the Elven queen, and the enigmatic raven Blagden, who spouted riddles concerning Eragon's past and future. Eragon was surprised to learn that Arya was Islanzadí's daughter, and therefore a princess. The Training of a Rider , in the ancient language.]] Eragon's training began almost at once. His instructor was an ancient Elvish Rider named Oromis, who had managed to prolong his life by means of countless tiny spells binding his weak body. Eragon's exercises with Oromis were frustrating at first, but gradually Eragon learned what it means to be a true Rider, guided by principles and making responsible choices, and came to understand that his "training" was an ongoing process that would last his entire life. He learned other things, as well, such as history, art, and pol Other *Eragon was portrayed by Edward Speleers in the Eragon film,who is a horrible actor. *Eragon appears with blonde hair in the film, which compares him too much to Luke Skywalker, while he's described having brown hair in the novel. (Callow, young, blonde-headed farm boy destined to save the world from the evil Empire by joining an ancient and long-dead order of peacekeepers. Bzzt! Luke Skywalker is incorrect!) Etymology Christopher Paolini has stated that he came up with the name Eragon by replacing the d'' in 'dragon' with an ''E;http://alagaesia.com/talktrilogy.html However, some have speculated that he instead replaced the A'' in 'Aragorn' with an ''E and removed the last r''. There is also a character named '''Erragon' in the Anne McCaffery book Skies of Pern, who is a Journeyman/Master Starman. Several people have said that he plagerized directly off of Anne McCaffery's books,which is obviously true.